Roswell Daily Record
NM busts driver’s license ring
Vol. 121, No. 136 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
BRADBURY DEAD AT 91
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ray Bradbury imagined the future, and didn’t always like what he saw. In his books, the science fiction-fantasy master conjured a dark, depressing future where the government used fire departments to burn books in order to hold its people in ignorance and where racial hatred was so pervasive that some people left Earth for other planets. - PAGE A6
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico authorities on Wednesday detailed what they called a “recipe for fraud” as they announced the bust of a sophisticated ring that specialized in helping illegal immigrants obtain fraudulent driver’s licenses. The recipe included reams of fraudulent documents — from rental agreements to bank statements, vehicle titles and insurance paperwork — that were used as proof of residency to obtain licenses in at least 54 cases, authorities said. The probe is continuing,
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
June 7, 2012
THURSDAY
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and authorities said during a press conference that investigators believe hundreds of licenses have been fraudulently obtained through the ring over the past couple of years for illegal immigrants living outside of New Mexico. Arrest warrants were issued for nine people. Demesia Padilla, secretary of the state Taxation and Revenue Department, which oversees New Mexico’s Motor Vehicle Division, said her concern is that the stories about vanloads of illegal immigrants being brought to New Mexico from as far as Florida and
Illinois for driver’s licenses will continue until the state Legislature takes action. Padilla charged that the Legislature has created a “mess” by not repealing the law. “We need to end the issuance of driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, and until we do that, we’re going to leave ourselves open to this type of fraud and this type of crime,” she said. Gov. Susana Martinez has repeatedly pressed state lawmakers to repeal New Mexico’s law over See LICENSE, Page A3
AP Photo
Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler answers questions about a driver’s license scam following a press conference in Albuquerque, Wednesday.
Local veterans decry no clinic
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JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Mason opens RPL’s reading program Children’s musician Andy Mason, of Portales, performs at the Roswell Public Library, Wednesday morning.
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
Children’s musician Andy Mason helped the Roswell Public Library kick off its Summer Reading Pro-
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — A jury dominated by people with Penn State loyalties was selected Wednesday to decide Jerry Sandusky’s fate in the child sexual abuse scandal that rocked the university and led to football coach Joe Paterno’s downfall. The seven women and five men who will hear opening statements on Monday include an engineering administrative assistant at Penn State, a dance teacher in the continuing education program and a professor who has been on the faculty for 24 years. - PAGE B1
JURY SET
TODAY’S • • • •
OBITUARIES
Elfida Chacon Bess Webre Tally Lowell C. Cozzens Jesse Ray Ratliff - PAGE A6
HIGH ...99˚ LOW ....66˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
gram with lively songs about burritos, sharks and pirates, Wednesday, playing two shows in the Bondurant Room. Mason has released three critically-acclaimed children’s albums since 2007, and is
on a five-state tour that will see him play 45 concerts in June and July. Mason performed such family See MASON, Page A3
In return for their active duty, area veterans have one humble appeal: to be taken care of at a clinic close to home. With recent news that after 12 years they still won’t be provided with this service, the veterans are fuming and not entirely sure what to do about it. “We have taken veterans from World War II, Korea and it’s a hardship on them to drive to Albuquerque. It’s a hardship for them to get out of a van after three hours. It’s just not right. Last year we took over 1,000 vets. We shouldn’t have to be doing this. We shouldn’t have to be carrying our veterans over there. That should be something the government should
Horses: Stock or pets? Experience The Roswell Experience ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Emaciated horses barely clinging to life at a New Mexico auction house, their last stop before a lengthy trip to a slaughterhouse south of the border, give credence to grim tales from around the Southwest.
People unable to afford the rising cost of hay, dumping their horses on the side of the road. Tens of thousands of wild horses roaming public and tribal lands, stripping droughtplagued landscapes and draining stock tanks. As horse rescue operations struggle to keep up with a growing number of neglected, abused and starving animals, a Roswell businessman has filed an
application to open what would be the first horse slaughterhouse to operate in the United States in five years. The proposal by Valley Meat Co. owner Rick De Los Santos has reignited emotional debates over what constitutes humane treatment of horses, and how best to control an exploding equine population. Perhaps the most divisive question of all is whether the noble, iconic animals that played a key role in the settling of much of America are livestock or pets. “It’s probably the most See HORSES, Page A2
See CLINIC, Page A3
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
An innovative form of storytelling is coming to Southeastern New Mexico. The Roswell Experience, the latest example in transmedia, of fers a chance for people to participate in a fictional story of alien adventure. In search of an amulet that Courtesy Photo might just save humankind from a ruthless alien A crop circle created for The Roswell Experience, at race of reptilians, partici- Graves Farm and Garden. pants can visit up to 32 locations in and around versity instructor James participants will be proRoswell, including restau- Airhart created the game, vided points, and that rants, state parks and which begins Saturday whoever has the most at and ends June 22. He museums. New Mexico State Uni- said that at each location
See ROSWELL, Page A3
It’s really hot out there for pets, too Firefighters use burnouts to corral NM wildfires JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell Animal Services Supervisor Joseph Pacheco wanted to remind people to consider the health and safety of their pets. “We are getting a lot of phone calls for welfare checks on dogs that have been left inside cars at Walmart, Kmart, Target and even the courthouse.” He urged people to leave their dogs at home. “We really do live in a desert. I can understand if it’s a long trip, but if
you live here, why take your animals out in the heat?”
Pacheco recommends if it is absolutely necessary to bring an animal when running errands to leave the windows cracked, carry water in the car for the animal and limit any store visits to less than 15 minutes. If possible, park in the shade, but better still, leave the dog at home. Studies indicate that even with the windows cracked on a 70- to 80-degree day, a car can heat up to temperatures in excess of 100 degrees
within minutes. Dogs get rid of heat by panting. Dogs with thick double-coats have a harder time beating the heat. Owners may want to consider getting fur clipped on long-haired dogs and those breeds which are better suited to a cold environment, like Siberian huskies and Saint Bernards. Pug-nosed dogs like bulldogs, pugs and boxers, have smaller airways, and therefore have less of an ability to expel hot air. Even at home, shelter
See PETS, Page A3
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Firefighters working in different parts of New Mexico are using similar tactics to corral two lightningsparked wildfires.
Crews contained more than 20 percent of the massive Whitewater-Baldy fire in southwestern New Mexico by Wednesday. The blaze has charred about 412 square miles of the Gila National Forest.
Firefighters are building lines and mopping up after burnout operations along the fire’s perimeter. On the southern flank, they fin-
ished prepping cabins for potential fire movement. In northern New Mexico, fire managers say burnout operations are helping with the Bear Springs fire. That blaze has burned about 580 acres. Forest officials say cultural and historic structures on the southern edge of the Jemez Mountains are considered threatened. Crews are also battling the 320-acre Colorado Peak fire southwest of Santa Fe. It was sending up a large plume of smoke Wednesday evening.